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Topic Review (Newest First)

04-08-2013 02:34 PM

pdqaltair

Re: Mildew in the Cabin

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimgo

Are there any laundry detergents with colloidal silver? That might be a good option for the fabrics.

Since silver is quite toxic to bacteria and not biodegradable, it is highly restricted in sewage ordinances. Far worse than phosphate, for example, so that will never happen. PPB limits are common.

04-08-2013 02:17 PM

hellosailor

Re: Mildew in the Cabin

Not to be unkind, but a detergent with colloidal silver would be a good way to separate fools from their money, as the purpose of a detergent is to remove things from the laundry, and colloidal silver would only work if you let it dry on the cloth, leaving as much silver behind as possible.

04-08-2013 01:44 PM

jimgo

Re: Mildew in the Cabin

Are there any laundry detergents with colloidal silver? That might be a good option for the fabrics.

Seriously, I'd bet spraying it with colloidal silver solution would work. Or tea tree oil, or any of the other antifungals. With porous natural fabrics, crud is supposed to infest them in a damp environment.

If you've ever sniffed tea tree oil right out of the bottle, I'm not sure that having it disperse to be breathed in a closed space is a great idea. We all do worse but still, it is an irritant.

What I can't figure is how Kanberra can sell it as a bio-active product (mildecide, fungicide) without getting flack from the EPA, who genearlly get upset about any claims like that without an EPA certification attached. Maybe because it is "organic" ?

04-08-2013 12:37 PM

Alex W

Re: Mildew in the Cabin

The big thing for me was finding the source of moisture in my boat. I had a persistent small puddle of water on the floor of the head that took me months to track down. It turned out to be a very slow leak in one of the hot water heater lines that would drip a bit as long as the system was pressurized.

Once I fixed that I got a very dry boat and mildew stopped being an issue.

I did wipe down all of my hard surfaces with a tea-tree oil containing spray. I mixed in another ounce of pure tea tree oil (not cheap stuff) to make it stronger. I like how tea tree oil smells, so it at least made the boat smell nicely and killed existing mildew, but I can't say if it did anything about new mildew.

We do sail it about once a week, that helps.

04-08-2013 12:19 PM

jimgo

Re: Mildew in the Cabin

I think the key here is that PS is trying to find solutions for mold on fabrics in the cabin, while I think many of us have focused on mold that is on headliners or on the hull. I've had success in using a combination of vinegar and tea tree oil, along with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (or the knock-offs of those). You just have to remember to shake the vinegar and oil, otherwise you wind up only spraying the vinegar. As mentioned elsewhere, the vinegar changes the pH, so the mold can't grow, and the tea tree oil kills the mold.

Now, ridding yourself of the mold stains, that's another story entirely!

04-08-2013 11:00 AM

One

Re: Mildew in the Cabin

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcusc130

It smells like vinegar..... Forever.

Yes, and just when you think it stops smelling, it gets just a little bit moist or wet, and there it is again.

04-08-2013 08:40 AM

zeehag

Re: Mildew in the Cabin

i clean my boat with vinegar without any problem of smelling like vinegar--which, btw, is a lot better than dying of black mold.....
mold in material is the key to dispo-ing that material as the fabric will disintigrate from the mold and mildew.
pricey chemicals labelled anti mold anti mildew are very harsh on asthmatic lungs....not to mention the short term only capoacity for killing mold--they do not address spores. vinegar changes pH to acid and the spores do not grow in acid.

04-08-2013 07:32 AM

Minnewaska

Re: Mildew in the Cabin

Quote:

Originally Posted by chef2sail

Im with the Chef, Kanaberra Gel. Since using it starting 3 years agvo not one drop of mildew. I thin Minniewaska will also agree with this also.

Dave

Yup, started a thread on this stuff a few years back when I first heard of it. I reload twice a year now. Just ordered the spring supply.

I'm not sure it will kill a runaway colony that got a head start, but it does a nice job of keeping it from coming back. They make a spray now, I wonder how that works for cleaning? I've found, for it to work best, you need to limit air exchange for a period of time.

The active ingredient is tea tree oil and the manufacturer explains why theirs is worth the month. Here's the link to the thread here:

I strip all the cushions and any soft goods off the boat, I have racks at home in the basement for everything.

Keep water out of the bilge.. with the mast down it's not a problem, with the mast up, I get some water intrusion into the bilge. I have a bolt that I can remove in my bilge that allows the most of the water to run out through the centerboard trunk. I pump out any residual every couple of weeks and air the boat out.

after stipping everything, I've been applying lemon oil to the bare surfaces. I leave all the drawers and lockers open, remove the floorboards etc. So far, so good.

In season, It hasn't been an issue.

I'll look into the kanberra gels, and sprays.

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